The Stage

Un ballo in maschera

Published Monday 29 June 2009 at 17:55 by George Hall

First seen in 2005, Mario Martone’s production plays Verdi’s opera in the so-called Boston setting imposed on him by censors in Rome in 1859, as opposed to the Swedish original he had in mind at the start - the ultimate source for the plot was the real assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden at a masked ball in 1792. Then it muddies the waters further by moving the situation to the aftermath of the American Civil War. Sweden certainly makes better sense.

In any case, the show is visually undistinguished until a spectacular finale in which mirrors open out the ball scene to impressive effect. Elsewhere, there’s too much weak and aimless direction and a general retreat towards old-style operatic wandering about.

Three of the principals suffer from this, and though they all have grand voices, none of them delivers a truly purposeful performance. Dalibor Jenis’ Renato also lacks solid low notes, while Angela Marambio’s Amelia is not always in control of her enormous soprano. As the witch Ulrica, Elena Manistina makes a darkly opulent sound but her acting is rudimentary.

Two of their colleagues fare better. Though she lacks the final touch of sparkle, Anna Christy’s Oscar is delightfully sung and acted. As the doomed, light-hearted Riccardo, Ramon Vargas has clearly thought about the meaning of every note and is outstanding.

Conductor Maurizio Benini offers a level of decent routine, but not much more.